Minister warns charities of cuts to funding

By Aubrey Allegretti, Political ReporterOxfam must show "moral leadership" or lose all its Government funding, a senior minister has warned.International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said the charity "completely failed to do the right thing" after it was reported aid workers hosted sex parties with prostitutes on a 2010 mission to Haiti.She challenged Oxfam bosses to explain why a resulting investigation saw four staff dismissed and three resign - with no public disclosure.:: Oxfam boss 'deeply ashamed' of charity's behaviourMs Mordaunt called the behaviour "utterly despicable" and threatened to cut the charity off from Government funding if she was unsatisfied with answers from an upcoming meeting on Monday.She told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "I am affording them the opportunity to tell me in person what they did after these events and I'm going to be looking to see if they are displaying the moral leadership that I think they need to now.

Image:Penny Mordaunt said Oxfam must show 'moral leadership'"If the moral leadership at the top of the organisation is not there then we cannot have you as a partner."Ms Mordaunt said the charity had done "absolutely the wrong thing" by failing to tell the Charity Commission and prosecuting authorities the full details of the allegations.She added: "If they do not hand over all the information that they have from their investigation and subsequently to the relevant authorities including the Charity Commission and prosecuting authorities then I cannot work with them any more as an aid delivery partner."Caroline Thomson, chair of Oxfam's trustees, announced a package of measures to show the organisation was committed to changing.She said it had made "big changes" since the original incident but that "today I commit that we will improve further".Oxfam will examine new complaints from staff members about how the aid workers involved in 2010 were recruited and vetted.And it will extend an existing review into bad behaviour and the charity's culture to include looking at how people are hired and managing of staff in "challenging environments".

Video:Watchdog questions Oxfam over Haiti scandalMs Mordaunt has written to all UK charities which receive UK aid to tell them they must declare all "safeguarding concerns" or lose Government funding.It came amid an explosive intervention by her predecessor, Priti Patel, who claimed she faced "internal pushback" when trying to investigate exploitation claims against aid workers."A lot of people knew about this," she told Sky News, naming the Charity Commission and DFID (Department for International Development)."I did my own research and I have to say I had a lot of pushback within my own department."I pushed hard - I had pushback internally and that is the scandal. The scandal is within the industry, people know about this."

Video:Oxfam CEO 'ashamed' by Haiti scandalA statement from DFID responding to the allegation said the Haiti incident was "an example of a wider issue on which DFID is already taking action, both at home and with the international community via the UN".The Charity Commission said it had written to Oxfam "as a matter of urgency" to request further information and "establish greater clarity".Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring told Sky News on Sunday that the people implicated in the scandal had "behaved abominably and the sacking was the very least they deserved".More from OxfamPriti Patel: Government officials 'pushed back' inquiry into aid workers' abuse

When asked what he would do if Government funding was cut to the charity, he said: "We will carry on delivering as best we can because that's what the people of Yemen, Syria, Congo and indeed Haiti need and deserve."I'll try and explain to them what action we've taken and what we're continuing to do...and I hope they'll trust 75 years of amazing work reducing poverty and suffering."news.sky.com

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